New Year’s Resolutions Are Good…For Your Veins!

“This is the year I take better care of myself.” 

Sound familiar? Every new year people resolve to quit smoking, exercise, visit the doctor, and commit to living a healthier lifestyle. There are a multitude of reasons why these are excellent resolutions, but consider one more: veins. 

Vein disease affects millions of people. It occurs when valves in the veins of the legs can’t efficiently pump blood back up to the heart. Vein disease can cause pain, swelling, varicose veins, or worse. It’s also chronic and progressive, and if left untreated, can lead to serious medical complications. 

“Venous disease is one of the most common health conditions among Americans,” said Dr. Cindy Asbjornsen, Board-certified vein specialist at the Vein Healthcare Center, “but most people don’t realize that it may affect them, or that there are modern, minimally invasive treatments available.” 

Here are three things that people can do to improve— or prevent— vein problems in the new year: 

1. Quit smoking. Smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke affects veins, arteries and the entire circulatory system. It can make venous symptoms, like leg aches and pains, even worse. 

2. Exercise. This can be as simple and effective as walking just 30 minutes a day. Walking causes the rhythmic contraction of calf muscles and helps promote blood flow to the heart.  

3. See your doctor. Ask your primary care physician about venous issues, especially if “bad veins” run in your family. Your doctor can refer you to a Board-certified phlebologist for a screening and evaluation.  

Contact the Vein Healthcare Center to schedule an evaluation appointment, or to find out more about vein health and treatment. 

Have a happy and healthy new year!

Vein tips for hot days

Heat dilates veins. That means that varicose veins (or "leaky" veins) and other symptoms can worsen in warmer weather. 

Here are some quick tips for vein relief:

• Stay as cool as possible. 
• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water.
• Take a walk. If the temperature outside is too hot, try a stroll through the mall or another climate-controlled building.
• Go for a swim. Like walking, swimming pumps the calf muscles and improves circulation. Plus, a swim can cool you off!
• Elevate the legs whenever possible.
• Schedule an evaluation with a Board certified phlebologist.

Click here for additional ways to ease symptoms of vein disease. Click here to schedule an appointment for a complete evaluation of your vein health so you can treat the problem at its source.

Fixing the problem

In our last two posts, we looked at the problem of leg pain in athletes, and how veins and exercise can possibly affect each other.

If vein problems keep someone from doing activities that aggravate his or her vein symptoms, then choosing alternate activities is one way to cope. Some people may find that swimming, for example, does not produce the same discomfort that running does.

Athletes can live with the problem, but they don’t have to. There are so many options for treatment so that people can continue doing their favorite sports or whatever activity they're passionate about. They might even see an improvement in their performance.

Modern treatments have excellent initial and long-term success rates when performed by an experienced phlebologist (vein specialist). Endovenous approaches are minimally invasive treatments used to address specific large varicose veins in the legs.

Endovenous ablation (EVLA) is considered the gold standard in the treatment of venous symptoms, with success rates between 90% and 98% after five years. It has largely replaced previous, more invasive standards of care, such as vein stripping.

Another option for treatment is sclerotherapy, performed either with ultrasound-guidance, or with a light-assist, which seals the vein wall of small varicose veins allowing them to fade away.

With both EVLA and sclerotherapy, patients can walk the day of the procedure and return to normal activity, including moderate exercise, within a few days.

The key to safe, effective vein treatment is to consult with a board certified vein specialist who can evaluate the entire venous system so that poorly functioning veins can be treated at the source.

How exercise impacts veins (and vice versa)

In our last post we began discussing how physically active people experiencing leg pain are possibly experiencing the effects of vein insufficiency. In this post we take a closer look.

During exercise your muscles require more oxygen, so veins dilate to increase the volume of blood flowing through the circulatory system—but if your veins are not working properly, that means more blood can pool in your legs. On the other hand, exercise is beneficial from a venous standpoint because anything that improves the function of the foot and calf muscle pumps to get the blood back up to the heart is good.

Walking is the best exercise for improving the muscle-pump function, especially following vein treatment. Although walking can help manage the symptoms, it does not prevent vein problems. Neither does exercise cause vein problems, except in extreme cases. Physical activities that require your legs to support heavier weight over prolonged periods of time, such as weightlifting or backpacking can put someone at increased risk for developing venous issues. Repeated exposure to increased intra-abdominal pressure, or pressure that is transmitted to lower extremities, can cause the normal system of valves and veins to weaken over time and become incompetent.

Repetitive motion sports such as endurance running, cycling and tennis can also put a lot of stress on your leg veins and over time may overcome a normal venous system.

In general, exercise (and working out the muscle pumps) is not detrimental for the vast majority of athletes who are participating in a more typical spectrum of activity. In fact, maximizing the efficiency of that system is beneficial.

Depending on each individual’s degree of vein disease, he or she may become more symptomatic because the foot pump no longer counters the vein insufficiency. One person’s level of activity, for instance, may be associated with the progression of vein disease if they have some pre-existing risk factors, such as age or family history.

While exercise can influence vein dysfunction, it doesn’t necessarily prevent it or cause it. But can poorly performing veins affect athletic performance? The short answer is yes. If the venous system is not working correctly, then the “extra” de-oxygenated blood (and blood waste products like lactate) can cause discomfort, cramping, fatigue, or other conditions that diminish performance.

Even if legs feel great during training, vein issues can also cause legs to hurt after exertion and slow your recovery.

In our next post about athletes, exercise, and veins, we’ll turn to treatments to fix the problem. And be sure to visit the Vein Healthcare Center in South Portland, Maine to learn more about your options for treatment.

Physical activity, leg pain…and veins?

Many athletes, professionals and amateurs alike, experience some kind of leg pain at one time or another, whether from the mechanics of pounding movement on a hard surface, or keeping their legs in the same position for extended periods. Rarely do they attribute the discomfort to a dysfunction in their venous (veins) system.

But not all aching legs are simply due to physical activity, or even the effects of aging. It may actually be vein insufficiency that’s causing those symptoms and not that five-mile run.

The first thing to understand that leg pain in general is not normal. If your legs hurt after exercise, you should find out why.

Some of the symptoms of vein disease are obvious: visible blue- or purple-colored “spider veins,” bulging varicose veins, or even open wounds (leg ulcers) on the leg or ankle. Other symptoms are much more subtle. In addition to achiness and swelling, sensations like an itching or tingling in the legs may be an indication of vein insufficiency. Leg cramps after long periods of inactivity, or while lying in bed at night, is another possible symptom.

Some people may experience no symptoms at all—and some merely accept them as an unavoidable byproduct of physical fitness. You can be in great shape and still have a vein disease that’s developing.

In our next post, we’ll look at how exercise impacts veins (and vice versa). If you wonder whether vein issues are affecting your physical performance, feel free to call the Vein Healthcare Center with any questions.

Running on all cylinders

This Saturday the Vein Healthcare Center is co-sponsoring the South Portland MAINEiacs first-ever 5K run, just around the corner from the VHC offices!

We’ve had running, exercise, and athletes on our mind lately, as our latest issue of Vein Health News is hot off the press. In our cover story package, we look at how exercise affects veins (and vice versa); whether athletic compression is worth considering; and how even athletes could be affected by DVT.

Click here to read more about athletes and veins. And get out and enjoy a walk or run in the increasingly crisp autumn air!

The risks of…sitting?

Are you sitting down? Chances are, you are! It seems like our whole world was designed to keep us in a seated position, usually in front of a screen, whether during work or leisure time.

Earlier this year, a recent article found that this overwhelmingly sedentary behavior increases our risk of getting preventable conditions, even if we exercise. The studies showed that physical inactivity (the fourth-leading risk factor for death for people all around the world, according to the World Health Organization) can lead to premature death from cardiovascular issues and cancer, as well as cause chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes.

Too much sitting can also increase the risk of getting varicose veins—and if you already have vein issues, you may notice that symptoms get worse after sitting for prolonged periods of time.

Why? The heart pumps oxygen-rich blood throughout the body through the arteries. Veins then carry blood from all the extremities back up to the heart. The blood in the legs travels up against gravity, so when the valves in the veins become damaged, blood flows back into the legs which leads to a “pooling” of blood in the veins that can manifest as varicose veins or spider veins. 

When you sit (or stand) in the same position for a long time, the blood doesn’t circulate properly and, over time, this can lead to varicose veins.

There are a several ways to help reduce the risk of getting varicose veins from sitting for too long:

• Sit properly. Focus on good posture and avoid crossing your legs or sitting in ways that can compress veins for prolonged periods.

• Elevate. Occasionally, rest your legs above your heart – for as long as 30 minutes or as briefly as three minutes. (For more tips on elevation, click here.)

• Take a break. Take frequent walking breaks to avoid sitting or standing for periods of more than two hours.

• Pump it. If you can’t move around that often – or are flying on an airplane – try flexing and pointing your foot to get the blood moving in your legs. (Click here to learn more about “the foot pump.”)

Of course, the best way to reduce your risk of getting varicose veins from sitting all day is to move around more – and be aware of just how much time you spend sitting down.